Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Grimes & Company Inc.

Grimes & Company Inc. decreased its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,669 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 25,392 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $7,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,440,000 after buying an additional 568,563 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 38.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after acquiring an additional 282,194 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 67.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,333,000 after acquiring an additional 264,756 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 7,667.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 163,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $155,000,000 after purchasing an additional 161,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after purchasing an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $88.71 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $143.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.65.

Albemarle Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.